Publisher: CDV Software Entertainment and Buka Entertainment
Developer: Lesta Studio
Genre: Simulation/Strategy
ESRB Rating: T for Teen (Violence)
Release Date: September 25, 2006
Suggested Retail Price: $29.99
"Pacific Storm" is a tough game to sum up in one sentence. It doesn't fit neatly into any one category. It's a mixture of strategy, simulation, and combat. "Pacific Storm" is Risk, "Silent Hunter," and "IL-2 Sturmovik" all rolled into one. You can be involved in every level of micromanagement or have the computer take care of the same details.
It's back to World War II in the Pacific theatre. There are a huge amount of details that can be micromanaged. In the broad sense, there are two big views. You can play as if you are in the battles or view the war from a strategic level where decisions about bases, divisions, and troops are made. This mode is like Risk. You setup the stage for battle, by positioning the units and preparing them with the ammo. Then you let your units battle it out. While you continue to prepare other units, build bases, research technology (a bit like "Civilization's" tech tree), deploy units, construct buildings, and order new planes and ships.
The battleground mode puts you in charge of managing battles. You can get even further into the battle by putting yourself on the battleships firing at the enemy or taking the seat of a plane (joysticks are supported). The best part about is that you aren't stuck staying in one plane or ship throughout the battle. With a click of a button, you can give control back to the AI and you can move onto directing the units to another area or to attack.
While this may seem like a lot to learn, "Pacific Storm" walks you through each part of the game. After the tutorials, you'll feel comfortable moving around the interface. In fact, "Pacific Storm" is a good game for gamers who haven't played a flight sim before, because it does give you an environment where it's easy to learn how to maneuver without the pressure in the tutorial stages.
"Pacific Storm" looks to be a good buy for gamers who love strategy or flight games. The depth of micromanagement and the fact that you don't have to deal with anything you don't want to (let the AI do it!), looks to be the biggest strength of "Pacific Storm."
"Pacific Storm" is set to be released at the end of September 2006.
"Pacific Storm" Minimal System Requirements:
OS: Windows 2000/XP
Processor: Intel Pentium 4 1700 MHz or similar
RAM: 512 Мб
Video: DirectX 9-compatible 3D accelerator with 64Mb of video memory
(NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 or ATI Radeon 9200)
HDD Free Space: 3 Gb
Peripherals: Keyboard, mouse
DirectX: 9.0C or higher
Sound: any DirectX-compatible sound card
"Pacific Storm" Recommended System Requirements:
OS: Windows 2000/XP
Processor: Intel Pentium 4 2400 MHz and higher
RAM: 768 Mb or higher
Video: 3D accelerator with 128 Mb of video memory
(NVIDIA GeForce FX5600 or ATI Radeon and higher)
HDD Free Space: 3 Gb
Peripherals: Keyboard, mouse, joystick
DirectX: 9.0C or higher
Sound: any DirectX-compatible sound card
